


Snapped Strings

by Oliver_Harvey



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-24
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-05-23 00:34:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 11,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6099052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oliver_Harvey/pseuds/Oliver_Harvey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natasha Romanov is a musician trying to be heard in a large crowd. She has the talent for sure, but hasn't been spotted yet. At least, she hasn't been spotted by an agent. Maria Hill has heart heart captured by Romanov as was shown in a drunken attempt to kiss her. Natasha fell asleep and the moment fizzled away. That's what Maria thought...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Could've Gone Better

It was only 7pm and I was already tired from stocking new beer barrels in the basement. I was thinking of taking a quick nap in my flat upstairs when my boss, Nick, called me up to the bar. "What is it?" I asked. He just pointed to the corner of the room where Bruce Banner, our sound engineer for the gigs, was struggling to untangle some wires. "He wants to talk to you," Nick said. I reluctantly made my way to Bruce and pulled the wires from his hands, unraveling them in a couple of minutes for him.

"Oh cheers Maria. Do you know who's playing tonight?" It was his right to know, but he would be hurt if I told him the truth. Even then he'd find out when he saw the performers. "A new band called 'Telephone', Crazy Jim with his harmonica and Natasha Romanov." I said quickly. Bruce's eyes widened at Natasha's name. "How's Natasha been recently?" He made it look like he was untying more cables but I wasn't that stupid; I could see they were already sorted out.

"I only talk to her when she comes for a gig Bruce, I'm not her best mate or anything." My stomach dropped at my own words. My only excuse to talk to her was if she was coming to play her guitar every other Wednesday. It was hopeless to fancy someone like Natasha. Not only was she way out of my league, but she was also straight. Bruce was evidence of that. "See you later then?" I nodded and went back to the bar. Nick slipped a piece of paper by me and I sighed. "Need me to read it?" He nodded. After an accident playing darts, Nick was blind in one eye. His other wasn't much better but he refused to get glass, saying it would ruin his "leather look."

"It's just your gas bill details. Don't worry, I'll sort it out after my shift this evening." Nick thanked me and said, "But you're already putting in extra time Maria. It can wait until tomorrow?" I shook my head. "I'd rather get this done and know you aren't behind in your payments, than go home to go to sleep for another hour." He laughed and went through to the office, leaving me to see to the trickle of customers coming through the door.

__________________________________________________________________________________

"Hey Maria, is it the usual room?" Natasha asked me, holding up her guitar. For a moment I just took in her beautiful smile, her deep eyes, her shocking red hair. "Maria?" I snapped out of my daydream and nodded my head, unable to form words. "Thanks," she said, walking round the back. I let out a deep breath, calming my nerves. "Whiskey please Maria. What's got you worked up?" Bruce asked me, sitting down on a stool. My eyes flicked to the back door where Natasha had just gone through. "I should have known. You're still hooked on her, aren't you?" Bruce muttered. I handed him his drink and said, "You know nothing went on. We had a talk, we were both drunk and I tried to kiss her. She fell asleep on me. It's obvious she doesn't remember, thank god." Bruce raised an eyebrow at me and I went to the other end of the bar.

A couple of hours later the bar was packed ready for our final performance; Natasha. She was wearing a red and blue checked shirt and black skinny jeans with those popular tan boots. She was stunning. As soon as Natasha's mouth opened, her silky voice trailed out and filled the room. Although most of the people in the bar were fans of rock music, Natasha had a way of making folk amazing for everyone.

"But the Colorado rocky mountain high  
I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky.  
The shadow from the starlight is softer than  
a lullaby.  
Rocky mountain high..."

By the end of the song, even a few of the tough guys had a tear in their eyes. The last chord resonated round the room and silence fell before everyone applauded Natasha's obvious talent. "Thank you," she said into the microphone. "I'll no doubt be here next month at the same time again. Thanks for listening." The crowd continued to wolf whistle and clap although Natasha had left the stage and was packing up her things. A half hour later I was able to call closing time and the party-goers moaned. It was the same every night. They'd order a few drinks, have a laugh, and always ask to stay a tiny bit more although they had no intention of parting with more money. 

I locked the doors and cleaned up the bar, switching off the lights before heading through to the office. I was surprised to walk past the green room and I fell over against the wall as I was walking in to by Natasha. "Oh my god, Maria, I'm sorry!" She helped me up and I straightened up my shirt, trying not to blush. "Why are you still here?" She asked me. I shrugged my shoulders. "Just doing some extra hours. Nick needed some help with his bills so I'm on my way to the office." She nodded slowly and then looked confused.

"Don't you have someone to go home to? I swear you practically live here." I laughed and tucked a loose hair behind my ear. "I live in the flat upstairs actually." Natasha put a hand to her mouth and apologised. "Oh I'm sorry!" I smiled. "Don't be. And I live alone so no-one will mind if I work extra hours or not. It's nice to have the spare money." There was a slightly awkward moment as neither of us spoke. Luckily, or so I thought, Natasha opened her mouth to speak. "Can I just ask you something? I mean, it will sound a bit weird, especially if I did dream it." I said yes and felt my cheeks burning.

"A couple of months ago I know we had a few drinks after the gig, but I can't say if what I think happened, actually did. Does that make sense?" I giggled. "I won't hate you if you're wrong, you know." She smiled and seemed to relax. "I think, but like I said I'm not sure, but anyway. I think you made a move on me and then I fell asleep." I searched my brain for a good reply but my rosy cheeks gave away my true answer. "Oh shit," she muttered.

I slide down against the wall and put my head in my hands. She sat beside me, leaning her guitar against the other side of the corridor. "I'm sorry, again." I took a breath and smiled at her, putting on a facade. "Why are you sorry? I'm the one that- I made a move on you. All you did was fall asleep." She sighed and I saw here eyes flick from my eyes to my mouth and back. "I'm sorry that I fell asleep. I don't know anyone else quite like you, Maria."


	2. Beer Bottles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for a beer. Or a chat. Or a kiss. Or maybe all three?!

"Um. Thanks, I guess?" I muttered, not quite sure what was going to happen. I drew a quick breath as Natasha lent towards me and placed a soft kiss on my lips. It was just like I'd imagined, only better. It only took a moment before I slid my hands around her jaw and adrenaline pumped through my veins. I felt a shudder shoot down my spine as Natasha wrapped her arms around my waist, pulling me closer to her body. 

Suddenly, the office door swung open and we broke apart. "Miss Hill. Do you intend to help me or do you not?" Nick said. He was looking around to find me and eventually his eyes found me on the floor next to Natasha. "Oh, sorry Maria. Do you two want a minute?" I sighed with relief, convinced he didn't see us kissing. I stood up and composed myself. Now wasn't a good time to blush. "I'll be there in just a minute Nick." He nodded and went back into the office. When I turned around, Natasha was stood up, looking rather sheepish.

"You've no idea how long I've been waiting to do that," she mumbled. My cheeks flushed red and any composure I had just went out of the metaphorical window. She stepped towards me and tucked my hair behind my ear. Thousands of thoughts and ideas rushed through my mind as I juggled what the right thing to do was. "Fancy staying for a drink?" I asked. Natasha looked surprised but nodded. "If you can just wait here for five minutes; I won't be long with Nick." 

I went into the office and he'd fallen asleep at his desk. I nudged him awake and lent over him to sort out his computer problems. "There. Your bill's been payed. I'm going to leave you to lock up. Is that alright?" Nick grumbled a yes and I left, closing the office door behind me. Natasha followed as I led her upstairs to my pitifully small flat. "Make yourself at home. I think there's enough space for two people." I joked. She laughed, thank goodness, and sat herself down on my fourth-hand sofa. "I've only got beer or coffee," I said. "Beer it is."

When I turned around from getting two bottles from the fridge, Natasha was standing fairly close to me. I waned to speak, just to say something but my thoughts were being drowned in her beautiful eyes. Without speaking, she took the beer bottles from my hands and placed them on the counter next to her. "Natasha," I muttered. She put a finger to my lips and smiled. "Call me Nat." The next thing I knew, her lips merged with mine in a kiss with her hands weaving around my neck. 

As the chemicals raced in my bloodstream, Nat pulled my waist towards hers and moved the kiss to my neck. I let a small moan escape from my throat as she found just the right spot. The moment passed too quickly for my liking when she let the intensity slip and put her forehead against mine. "Can we not do this tonight?" Nat whispered, breathless. I paused for a while, thinking about what to say. She must have taken my pause as shock because she let go of me completely and walked towards to sofa, picking up her guitar and bag. "See you next fortnight," she said bluntly.

I ran after her and caught her arm as she got into the hallway. Not stopping to think, I placed my hands around her head and pulled her in for a short but sweet kiss. "You don't have to do anything you don't want to do. I'm surprised you even spoke to me." I rambled off a list of meaningless phrases and sentences until she kissed me back. She only pulled away when she was out of breath. "Come back inside and we can talk?" I suggested. Nat sighed. It wasn't with frustration, but rather as if she was nervous. "Good idea."


	3. Stay The Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clue's in the title. Nat seems to have some problems at home, wherever that is. Finally they get to talk. Maria is proud of herself for taking risks. Yay. Let' see where these two go.

We both sat on the sofa and I decided to speak first. "I'm not sure what's going through your mind, but all of this is like a dream to me." Nat blushed and sighed. "You're so sweet Maria. If I'm being perfectly honest, I'm scared. I've always been with men and now I'm not quite sure to do or say." I smiled to myself and took her hands in mine. "As long as I'm talking to you, I don't care what else happens." Nat sat closer to me and took a deep breath as she put her hands around my waist. 

"So you're not angry? Or want me to leave?" She muttered. I laughed; she was normally so fierce and confident, but now I could feel her hands shaking around my middle. "I've been watching you since you first performed here. Whenever you smiled at me, it made my week. I only ever thought me talking to you was a dream." Her cheeks flushed a rosy pink. "But we've never properly spoken. how can you say that?" I shrugged and held her head in my hands, placing a kiss softly on her lips.

"I overheard you talking to others. You never persuaded me with your tough outer shell." She giggled and I stroked the side of her cheek. "Do you want to be with me?" She asked. I grinned and said, "Very much." Nat blushed. I didn't quite know what to expect from her, but I was pleasantly surprised when she lent towards me and started kissing the side of my neck. Her arms moved around my waist and she pulled me close to her again. I slid my hands through her hair and strung kisses along the side of her face. 

I couldn't help myself but want her more and more every time her lips met my skin. After a few minutes of the steamy make-out, she sat back and regained her breath. "Are you ok?" I asked. I didn't want her to feel she had to kiss me; I was happy enough just being sat with her. She nodded slowly and bit her lip. "Would you mind if I stayed here tonight?" I raised an eyebrow at her but said yes. "Thank you so much. I'm not sure I want to leave this, us, there or whether we should carry on," she muttered. I was trying so hard to act confident, but I knew my legs would give way if I tried to stand up. 

"You take things however fast or slow you want Nat. I'm just as scared as you are. I've never done this before." Her eyes shot wide open and her jaw dropped. "What do you mean? That you've never kissed a girl before or?" I looked at the floor and didn't bother to hide my burning cheeks. "I've kissed people before, like at parties, but not like we just did." Nat tucked her hair behind her ears and I tried to register what she was thinking. It wasn't long before she turned to face me again. "I'm honored then; you're an amazing kisser." 

With that, she moved above me causing me to slid down the sofa. She looked into my eyes and I looked into hers, before her lips came crashing down onto my own. This was a different type of kiss from a few minutes ago; now it felt like she wanted me. I kissed her back, placing my hands around her neck. She put her arms around me and a shiver rushed down my spine with the feel of her body against mine. I was unprepared for when she started to grind against me, her hands wondering all over my body. 

"Thought you wanted to take things slow?" I asked her, gasping for a breath. I felt her grin against my chest as she mumbled, "but I want you so badly." I pushed her off of me and she sat back, a look of sadness in her eyes. "I'm not telling you to stop," I insisted. "I'd just rather make use of my bed than my sofa." The butterflies in my stomach were doubling with every second. I just had to try and be confident for her, for me. I spent too much time being a coward and that was why we hadn't spoken properly before. Now things were going to change.

I stood up and led her to my tiny bedroom. It wasn't a big bed, but it had a lot more space than my sofa. She followed me and I pushed myself into the deep end, taking off my shirt and trousers so I was standing in my underwear. I watched as Nat looked me up and down, biting her lip. She then took of her clothes as well, walking over to me slowly. "So what now?" I asked. I was starting to feel more nervous than she had been when we first kissed. Nat pushed me against the wall and pressed herself into me, slowly, deeply kissing me until we had to gasp for air. "Now we have some fun."


	4. Commitment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the morning after the night before and it's time for Maria to face facts and ask Natasha a question.

I woke up remembering only that it was time to get up for work. I rolled over and pulled the duvet over my head before suddenly thinking back to last night. I opened my eyes to see if it had just been another dream, but Nat was still lying there in front of me. She was just a beautiful in the golden morning sunlight as she had been in the middle of the night. Just as I started to grin to myself about our antics, Nat mumbled something and rolled over in the bed.

I held my breath and, sure enough, she opened her eyes and looked at me. For a moment, I thought she was confused but the memories came back to her and her cheeks matched the colour of her hair. "I didn't dream that, did I?" She said quietly. I laughed and stroked the side of her face, admiring her dazzling eyes. Her cheeks went a deeper shade of red as she moved closer to me and placed a kiss on my lips.

"None of it was a dream. It was finally real." I said. She raised an eyebrow at me and sat up in the bed. "Finally real? Now what does that mean, Maria?" Nat was flirting with me and I couldn't deny the excitement I felt. "Does it matter if I imagined all of that?" I whispered. She giggled and pulled my face towards hers for yet another kiss. I felt her smile against me and I snaked my arms around her waist, pulling her hips against mine. Nat started to deepen the kiss, pulling at my neck, but I had to push her away. Our foreheads met and we regained our breath.

"I have to go to work," I said. She sighed and let me get up. "Are you staring at me Nat?" I was trying to flirt, but my stomach was still full of butterflies. "Maybe." Her silky voice went straight through me. What was going to happen now? "I can't help but admire the view, can I?" I laughed and turned to face her. She was still blushing slightly, but I could tell she was getting more confident.

"That's very nice of you. What are you going to do today?" I asked, getting dressed. Nat was quiet for a moment. "Can I help you behind the bar?" I was surprised. "Do you not have a gig or something?" I finished buttoning my shirt and looked over at her. "Nope. My singing career is completely dead. I'm trying to find another job if I'm perfectly honest." I grinned at her and climbed back onto the bed, kissing her softly.

"Get dressed and I'll see what Nick says. He will probably say you can have a trial run." Nat thanked me and flung her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly. "What does this mean, Maria?" She asked as I continued to get dressed. "Can you expand on that?" I heard her sigh. "Well we slept together so does that mean we're a thing?" Her voice was trembling, presumably with nerves. "Do you want us to be a thing?"

She shrugged and said, "I know you want to be but," Nat trailed off and I sat beside her. "What?" I held her hand in mine. "I don't know, I suppose I'm just scared. I really, really like you and I don't want to be with you, only to lose you." The butterflies in my stomach flew out of my mouth in the form of a kiss. "Natasha. Will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes."


	5. Glass Shards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce gets jealous of Nat and Maria and manages to break a glass. Questions are raised and are soon going to be answered. Except they're not the answers Maria wanted or expected...

The next month went in a flash. Nat started working in the bar with me and Nick often sang random bouts of karaoke with her, much to the delight of the customers. It was one of those evenings when Bruce came into the bar. He sat down in front of me and ordered a whiskey. "Got a date for the next gig?" He asked me, downing the entire glass. I passed him another measure of his favourite tipple. "Probably next Thursday. Is that alright for you?" He nodded and then looked over to the stage where Nat and Nick were singing a medley of Ed Sheeran.

"You're just a small bump unborn, in four months you're brought to life."

"I didn't realise Nat was going to be here?" Bruce mumbled. "She's been here every day for the past month actually," I said, wiping down the bar area. Bruce looked confused. "Why? She only comes here when she has to." I felt slightly hurt at his remark but brushed it off. Trying to act as casual as I could, I said, "Oh, well she's been living with me." To my surprise, Bruce shattered the glass in his hand. Everyone stopped singing along to Nat and Nick, turning to face Bruce and his very bloody hand. I sighed and called Nick over. "Bruce, follow me and I'll get you patched up."

I took him through to Nick's office and tried to find the first aid kit. After a quick, but thorough, search I couldn't find one. "Sorry about this," I muttered. "You're going to have to come upstairs with me. I'm not sure what Nick's done with the first aid kit." Bruce grumbled something but I ignored him. When we got upstairs, I asked him to run his hand under the tap to remove the blood. Then I found my own first aid kit and got out a bandage. 

When I saw his messed-up hand cleaned up, I didn't flinch at the sight of glass piercing his skin. "You've got some serious guts," Bruce said, wincing as I put his hand in a bowl of warm water. "I'm used to drunks getting in all sorts of mess." He grunted and remained silent as I removed each shard of glass with perfect precision and dropped it onto a piece of kitchen towel. It wasn't long before his hand was glass-free and I wrapped it up in the bandage. "You're going to need to go to your doctor's at some point this week to get this looked at."

Bruce moaned so I gave him a stern look. "I know our glasses are clean because I help wash them. However, yours had whiskey in it and I don't know how clean your hand was before you shattered the glass. You could be at risk of infection." I started to pack my kit away and poured the water down the sink as he sat down on my sofa. "You didn't learn this on drunks, did you?" He said just loud enough to hear. I lent against the sink and sighed. "No, you're right."

I went into my living space and sat beside him. "Where?" He asked. Just as I opened my mouth to speak, Nat opened the door. "Bruce! Are you alright?" She ran to his side and held his injured hand in her own, examining it closely. Now I wanted Bruce gone. "Bruce was just going actually." I said bluntly. Nat gave me a look, telling me to behave. "Looks like you're in good hands." She said to Bruce. He nodded. "A bit too good if you ask me." 

I rolled my eyes as Bruce told Nat about the 'unlimited skill and precision' of how I removed the glass. She raised an eyebrow at me and I put my head in my hands. "I was in the military for six years and part of my training included high-level first aid." Both Nat and Bruce gasped. "Bruce can leave now. I need to go and help Nick clean up downstairs. Knowing him, he'll get glass in him as well." I muttered. I opened the door for Bruce to leave and Nat pushed him towards the doorway. "I'll talk to you downstairs in a minute," she said to him. 

I closed the door firmly behind Bruce's ungrateful behind and apologised to Nat. "Why are you saying sorry? You haven' done anything wrong you idiot." She said. "Well," I stuttered. "I didn't tell you so I thought-" I was cut off by a sensual kiss. Her touch on my waist, the smell of her hair, the taste of her lips. God she was perfect. "Don't be sorry if you haven't done anything wrong." She said, taking a breath. We smiled and put our foreheads together. Our moment was broken as I heard a crash from the bar.

"I think we should go and help Nick," I said slowly. Nat nodded, giggling, and we made our way to the bar. Although she was the best thing to have happened to me, there were still so many nagging thoughts in the back of my mind. Why wouldn't she go to her own home? What happened between her and Bruce? What had she done before finding music? I decided to ask her later, focusing on helping Nick first. That man couldn't see for toffee.


	6. Truth Hurts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to get answers to questions usually left behind. The truth is what we all seek, but it's not always what we want to hear.

I was finally able to call closing time and lock up. 11:30 was my favourite time of the day without a doubt, especially now that I had Nat to go home to. I went upstairs and sat down on the sofa as she handed me a cup of tea. "Thank you for helping Bruce," she muttered. "It's fine, really." Nat sipped her coffee and then put it down on the floor beside the sofa. "What's on your mind?" She asked. "What? Nothing's on my mind," I protested. She laughed at me. "If you have a clear head, you're usually already on top of me." Nat winked at me and I felt my cheeks burn. 

"Alright, you've got me. Can I ask you some questions?" Again, Nat laughed. "Of course you can." I took a breath and steadied my nerves with another sip of tea. "Why did you and Bruce break up?" I thought it would be best to start with an easy question. "As you saw earlier, Bruce has more strength than he lets on, as well as a very short temper. When we were going out, he could get angry at anything and snap. He'd never hurt me, but he'd break things like glasses, plates, vases. All sorts. It scared me. Plus we never saw each other. I would be doing gigs every night and he'd be doing lighting and sound up and down the country." 

I nodded slowly, putting a hand on her thigh. "I'm sorry to hear that." She smiled at me and sad, "It's alright; we're good friends. Sometimes he just gets jealous." She sat up and kissed me gently on my cheek. "Next question?" Nat asked. I put down my tea and closed my eyes for a moment. I just hoped she wouldn't put a barrier up. "Why won't you go home?" Her smiled instantly fell away from her face and she backed away from me. The barrier was up. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No, of course I don't!" I took her hand sin my own and held it firmly, trying to prove I'd never want to let go of her. "I just want to understand, that's all. If there's something wrong, then maybe I could help?" In a matter of seconds, her facade broke and her face melted into a flood of tears. She fell against me so I cradled her to my chest. I held her tight, trying to pull the pieces of her back together. "My brother, Clint," she muttered through the gasping breaths and pure emotions falling down her cheeks. "Shh," I said, rocking her gently. "You don't have to say anything." 

I felt so bad, so evil, for causing her to cry. I guessed she had a good enough reason for not wanting to go home, but now I was scared to know. But then I also wanted to help her. It had never dawned on me how hard it was to love someone. "I want to tell you," Nat whispered. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself down. She slid her arms around me and held me back as tight as I was holding her. "Clint had a divorce this time last year. They were childhood sweethearts and got married young. On their fourth wedding anniversary, she left him for some guy called Tony."

Nat sat up and got a tissue, blowing her nose. "This Tony guy is kind of famous so Clint sees him on TV sometimes. Whenever he does, he drinks a lot. Then he gets violent, a bit like Bruce. He doesn't mean it, but he can throw a punch and it will land on me 90% of the time." I gasped, holding a hand to my mouth. "But he doesn't mean it!" she insisted. "Clint just needs a way of healing. He doesn't trust anyone though, and I don't want to go home because I know he'll be there. The longer I wait, the worse it will be though." 

I shook my head at her and pulled her towards me. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" I asked, kissing her on her forehead. Nat sighed. "Well you didn't tell me you were military?" I laughed slightly and she joined in. "Alright, alright." Then an idea hit me. "Hang on, I'll be back in a few minutes," I said, going into the bedroom. Nat looked confused as I left but I knew what I was doing. I was pretty sure I still had my uniform. Sure enough, I found it at the bottom of one of my drawers. I stripped from my work clothes and put on my crisp uniform. I loved the feel of the military clothing; it felt like pure obedience and loyalty. Then I remembered why I left.

"Maria? What on earth are you doing?" Nat called. I shook away the thought and grinned to myself. I put my hair into a tight bun in a matter of seconds and neatly placed my hat on the top of my head. "I'm here," I said slowly. Nat's jaw dropped as I walked into the living room. I stood to attention and saluted her. She burst out laughing and I suddenly felt very stupid. "Fine, I'll put it away." I grumbled. Nat stood up and walked over to me, looking me up and down. Then she bit her lip before kissing me passionately. "No, don't. You look very, very cute."

Nat un-tucked my shirt and slid her hands up my back, finding my bra. "I hope you didn't work too hard today," she muttered, undoing my bra. I held her head in my hands and kissed her with serious force. Gasping for breath, we fell back against the wall and she started to undress me. "I think I have some energy left," I said as I moved my kisses down to her neck. She laughed and then stopped giving me attention. "Why did you stop?" I said, saddened. I really wanted her now. She giggled ad took my hand in hers. "You'd rather use the bed, wouldn't you?" Nat winked and I laughed, following her into the bedroom.


	7. Another Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maria and Nat get to have a sit down and a proper talk.

I woke up to find Nat sat bolt upright in bed, just watching me. "How long have you been there?" I asked her. She shrugged and said, "About ten minutes." I sat up and lent against my pillows. "What's wrong? You're never up before me." Nat sighed and lay down beside me. "Can I ask you something?" I nodded and stroked her forehead. She was really worrying me.

"Why did you join the army? I mean, when and why and how long were you there? And why do you work for Nick when you obviously have the skills to work anywhere else?" I laughed and her ramblings and she apologised. "Don't be sorry; they're fair questions. I didn't know what to do when I left school so I joined the army like my Dad had before me. I was there for about five years and the last two years I've worked for Nick. He knew my Dad and was there when he died so he took me under his wing and looked after me. I can't bring myself to leave because he can't cope on his own."

Nat put her arms around me and held me tight. "You're such a loyal person Maria. How did someone like me get someone like you?" Trying to hold back the tears, I kissed Nat slowly. I'd had a fairly blissful life compared to her, but she always put on a brave face. "Because you're special and don't let anyone tell you different, ok?" I said. She nodded reluctantly and we lay there in the bed for while as the sun shone through the gap in the curtains.

"I've got an idea," I said suddenly. Nat gave me a puzzled look and I explained. "Bruce is blatantly jealous and needs someone else to focus on rather than you. Then your brother Clint needs the same. Why don't we invite them over tomorrow evening for dinner? Maybe we can get to the bottom of this and then you guys can get along better?" Nat blinked couple of times before throwing her arms around my neck, hugging me.

"That's a brilliant idea! I'll text them both now. Are you sure you don't mind Clint coming here though? If there's anything to drink or smash, he'll find it." She trailed off, embarrassed. I put my hand to the side of her face and smiled at her beautiful eyes. "Of course I don't mind. I want you to be happy."


	8. Dinner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not all house guests are polite, well-mannered and are happy to drink only water.

"Clint should be here in a while," Nat mumbled nervously. It was going to be the first time she saw Clint since she came to live with me. I came out of the kitchen and she was sat on the arm of the sofa. I held her close to me. "Don't worry about anything; I'm going to be with you every step of the way." I kissed her gently on the top of her face and she held my hands in hers. Neither of us were prepared for the loud knocking at our door.

I opened the door and Clint fell in, onto the floor. Bruce was stood behind him looking unimpressed. "This guy was asking for you guys. I'm in the middle of packing my kit away so have fun." As soon as he'd arrived, Bruce was gone. I sighed and picked Clint up, helping him onto the sofa. Nat had a hand to her mouth in shock as she sat beside him. "I'll go get some drinks," I said. I kept the kitchen door open so Nat didn't feel alone. I don't know what I expected but I thought she would have spoken to him. Instead, they sat in silence.

When I came back into the living room, I put a glass of water in front of Clint and gave a smoothie to Nat. "Haven't you got anything stronger?" Clint muttered. I ignored his idiocy and pretended we were going to have a normal conversation. "Water is a liquid so it's all you need. Do you mind me asking the name of your ex-wife?" Nat gasped and Clint dropped his arrogant facade. "Pepper. Pepper Potts." He spat the name like it burnt his tongue to speak her name. I thanked him and got my phone up, ready to look her up on social media. 

"I'd like to say also that your sister is scared to come home because of your anger. I can help you find a support group and get you the help you need if you want me to. At the moment, you risk losing your sister as well as your health." I don't know if it was the light, but it looked for a moment as if Clint was going to start crying. I took the opportunity to leave and let the siblings talk. Before I left, I placed a kiss on Nat's cheek. "I'll be just round the corner if you need me," I whispered into her ear. She nodded her head and thanked me.

As their awkward conversation began, I searched for Clint's love on all of the social media I had. I almost dropped my phone when I saw Bruce was mutual friends with her. I sent him a text about it.

"Do you know Pepper Potts?"

"Yeah - we went to high school together. We're like brother and sister."

I took a deep breath and plunged into the murky waters of trying to fix someone else's heart.

"Do you know who her new boyfriend is?"

"I think he's Tony Stark You know, the guy on the mechanical magazine covers?"

I laughed to myself. Since when did Bruce read those types of magazines? He was into music and the odd bit of science.

"If you say so.... ;) Do you think you could arrange them to come round for coffee tomorrow afternoon?"

"Sure. There's no harm in asking. And for the record, Stark won 'sexiest man alive' earlier this year so my opinion on his looks is irrelevant."

I was about to reply when I heard Nat started to raise her voice to Clint. I went round the corner into the living room and saw Clint very close to Nat's face. He looked like he was about to boil over. "Clint, calm down." I said slowly, very aware that his emotions were shredded. He stood up and came over to me. "Since when did you get to decide how I feel? Or how I should live my life? Back off and leave my sister alone! She's not one of you." His last words hit my stomach like a fist.

I glanced at Nat and she was starting to cry. Clint's words had hurt her as well. "If you just calm down and rest, we can talk about this tomorrow. You have too much alcohol in your system to think properly at the moment." I could smell the pure chemical of ethanol on his breath. Clint growled and walked me backwards against the wall. He looked me up and down before spitting on my shoes. That was the last straw for me.

In a flash, my military training kicked in and I had his body against the wall, his arm locked behind his back so he could move. "Oh shit. What the hell are you doing?" His voice was strained as he tried to resist the force on his arm. I pushed his hand higher up his back and he winced at the pain. "I don't want to have to defend myself in my own house. You're a guest. Your sister is my girlfriend. You need to rest, even sleep if you have to. Just clear your head and we'll talk tomorrow. You scare your own sister Clint. Just think about that."

Still restraining his arms, I walked him into the bedroom and I locked the door. Nat was in a flood of tears as she fell into my arms, a heap of apologies. "Shh," I said, stroking her soft ginger hair. "It's not your fault at all. He just needs to calm down and everything will be ok." She nodded and wiped her eyes. We lay on the sofa in silence. I knew she was listening to Clint yelling and breaking stuff in the bedroom but it was for his own good. There was a glass of water in there if he needed it, but he seemed mostly sleep deprived. I was starting to feel tired myself so I let my head rest on the back of the sofa, and fell into a light sleep.


	9. Clint Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Clint to sober up and confess to what actually happened between him and Pepper. Oh wait. Bruce has just done that for him. Bring on the awkward conversations.

I woke up to the sweet sound of Nat's voice. She sounded so far away that I was concerned at first. Then I remembered Clint's drunken behavior and me locking him in the bedroom. I got up and walked over to the doorway of the bedroom where I saw Nat inside, cradling Clint in her arms. 

"Say something I'm giving up on you," she sang to him. This must have been the first good night's sleep he'd had in ages.

"Anywhere I would have followed you... You're the one that I love and I'm saying goodbye."

Wiping the tears from my eyes at the lyrics, Clint woke up and threw up on the carpet beside him. I sighed loudly and Nat turned her head to apologise to me. Together we got him cleaned up and lying on the sofa under a blanket whilst I washed his clothes.

"I'm sorry if I was an idiot to you Maria," he mumbled. Nat raised an eyebrow at him and he said, "Oh and sorry for being sick on your stuff. And for being rude. And for being drunk." I handed him a glass of water and waited till he had taken a sip before I spoke. "Would you like me to get you some help for your drinking?"

"What do you mean by help?" Clint said, looking honestly interested. "Well I could help you get counselling so you can come to terms with being single or I could help you find a support group for drinking. Whatever you think will help you most, I have a lot of contacts in those areas so just let me or Nat know." Clint thanked me and put his head down on the arm of the sofa, falling asleep quickly. When he started to snore, I know it was safe to talk to Nat.

"Did he talk to you this morning?" I asked her. "Not at all. I woke up early so I thought I'd check on him. I found him asleep on the floor so I decided to sit with him. Then you came along." I nodded, taking in what had happened. "How come you were singing such a sad song to him?" Nat avoided my gaze so I let it drop.

We sat in silence for the next hour or so until there was a knock at the door. I got up to answer it, saving myself from the awkward lack of noise. "Maria! Nice to see you again, here are Tony and Pepper for lunch that you totally said you were doing!" Bruce was bright red in the face and completely flustered. Just down the stairs were a man with chiseled features and a woman with shocking red hair.

I pulled Bruce in and said, "For lunch? What the hell were you thinking? Clint has only just sobered up. He's no-where near ready to face that woman again. I don't even know why she left him!" Bruce put his hands up in a comical surrender. "I know, I know. As far as I can remember, Pepper was pregnant but lost the baby late into the pregnancy and neither of them knew how to get over the loss. Long story short, lack of communication meant they just didn't work anymore." 

"That explains Clint's drinking. He was getting over the baby as well as Pepper." I muttered. Bruce nodded slowly and then whispered to me, "But there have been rumors that it's not all sunshine and happiness with Stark either." We both pulled an 'interesting' face and I let him call Tony and Pepper into the flat. Whilst he was talking to them, I got Nat to take Clint into the bedroom so he could sleep properly and not have to face Pepper quite yet.

"If you wouldn't mind sitting down, I'll get us all some drinks and then we can get talking," I said to my sudden guests. I quickly got some beers out of my fridge (the perks of working at a bar) and handed them out. "I've got the impression this wasn't just a slightly weird invite to lunch, but rather a very weird invite to lunch," Tony said. I nodded and exchanged a look with Bruce as Nat came and sat down beside me. I could tell she was looking Pepper up and down in hate so I held onto her hand tightly.

"You're right Mr Stark." The formal-looking man laughed. "Please, call me Tony." I had to stop myself from laughing as Pepper rolled her eyes. Tony must be this flirty all of the time. "Basically my brother, Clint, has a broken heart because of her." Nat burst out, pointing at Pepper. The red-head didn't react as I thought she would. Instead of protesting or kicking up a fuss, she just looked to the floor. Tony didn't even comfort her; he was busy observing Bruce's behind as my little tech friend was playing with the settings on my TV. 

"What Nat is trying to say, is that he still loves you. Can you two maybe not sit down and have a conversation about what happened? He's drinking heavily and I for one am concerned about his health because of it." I trailed off, tears flowing down Pepper's cheeks. "Excuse me," she mumbled. She got up and walked down the corridor and gasped loudly. "Pepper?" Clint said slowly. I groaned and put my head in my hands. This had suddenly got so much more complicated than I thought it was going to be.


	10. Moving On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes relationships work out. Sometimes they don't.

An hour of conversation went by in what felt like forever. Bruce and Tony excused themselves and went somewhere else in the flat whist Nat and I sat witness to the world's most awkward conversation. Taking it in turns to talk, Clint and Pepper finally told each other how they felt and why. To be honest, I felt like crying alongside Pepper at the things they admitted. The entire time Nat held on tight to my hand. It made me wonder if we would ever get married. Would we fight like that? Would we even work?

"I didn't know what to say to you. It was like you needed to be alone so I left you to your own thoughts. I didn't realise how hard it was talking to you again, even just asking what we should have for dinner. I'm so, so sorry Pepper." Clint concluded. The red-headed woman sighed and pulled Clint's head to her chest. She stroked his hair and kissed his forehead. I looked at Nat, pulling her towards the kitchen so Pepper and Clint could be alone. I had no idea where Bruce had gone with Tony, but I wasn't sure I really wanted to know.

"Am I the only one that feels awkward here?" Nat said giggling to herself. I laughed with her and said, "No, I feel awkward as well. At least it looks like Pepper wants Clint back?" Nat nodded her head slowly and bit her lip. "What's wrong?" I put my hands around her waist but she refused to look at me. "It's just that now Clint wants to get better, I should probably go home. You know, to look after him." I couldn't help but feel slightly hurt. 

"I've got the feeling there's something extra involved. Tell me." She rolled her eyes and sighed, pulling away from my arms. "I've been given the chance to produce one of my songs with the promise of a contract if it's good enough." This confused me no end. Why not tell me? When did she get the offer? I decided to stay nice and ignore the pain of her hiding it from me. "That's great news Nat! I don't get why you're acting like this though. Have I done something wrong?" With no emotion, she sang the most beautiful song with the most terrible meaning.

"And I will swallow my pride. You're the one that I love, and I'm saying goodbye."


	11. Whiskey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A heart-to-heart gone wrong mixed with a large amount of whiskey and Tony Stark. Well. This could be interesting.

I sat in the bar, helping myself to a large glass of whiskey. I had no idea what to say to Nat so I said nothing. I just left. What was I meant to say? 'Sorry, but no. I won't let you break up with me.' Although I suppose 'why' would be a good start. I sighed and downed my drink, getting myself another. 

"Crikey. On the drink early are we?" I rolled my eyes and looked behind me. I knew t was Bruce, but I was taken aback to see him shirtless. "I live above a bar. You, though, don't have an excuse for being half naked." He blushed a furious shade of pink and sat on a stool. "Don't suppose you could get me a whiskey?" He muttered. I nodded and got him the drink. Bruce downed it quickly and started to look around him, as if he were anxious about something.

"What's up with you?" I asked, filling up his glass. He laughed slightly and said, "I could ask you the same. I thought things were going great between Clint and Pepper upstairs?" I nodded, but my face fell. "Then why are you down here, drinking a large amount of whiskey?" Bruce said, sipping at his own drink. "Clint and Pepper just needed a moment, that's all." 

Bruce raised his eyebrows. "Where's Nat? You two are inseparable nowadays." I gave in to my emotions and put my head in my hands, letting the tears flow. "Oh Maria. What's happened?" Just as I was about to explain, another man came into the room from the toilets. "Bruce mate, you left me alone!" I stood up and gave the man a stern look. Tony Stark. I looked to Bruce and he simply avoided my gaze. "Oh, my bad. You guys having a chat here? Personal shit?" 

"Yeah, actually." I said bluntly. "I can't believe your behavior, the both of you. Pepper is upstairs attempting to sort her life out and you two are what? Frolicking in the midnight sun?" I was stuck in the middle of a rant, as if my pain and anger was being vented through my words to Tony and Bruce. "You two have never met before! How can you have just decided in a few minutes to do goodness-knows what in there? It's so disrespectful to Pepper let alone plain rude."

My rant over, I felt confident enough to face my problem upstairs. Nat. I was pretty sure that Bruce and Tony now felt embarrassed and ashamed at what they'd done. I just had my fingers crossed that I'd be able to make my peace with Nat. I couldn't lose her. Not now.


	12. Never?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for the awkward break-up conversation.

"Is it safe to come in?" I said quietly, scared to enter my own home. "Of course Maria! We're leaving now anyway," said Clint, opening the door to my flat. He squeezed past me in the hallway with Pepper close behind him. I half-noticed their linked hands as I set my eyes on Nat. She was sat on the arm of the sofa, looking straight at me. "You came back?" Her voice was only a whisper. I laughed at her blatantly stupid remark and said, "Well it's my flat, so yeah I came back."

She nodded slowly and picked up a bag she'd had beside her. "Well see you at the next gig." I was gobsmacked; how could she be so casual about all of this? As she met my side, I held her hand tightly. "It seems like I never meant anything to you," I mumbled. Nat sighed heavily and refused to meet my gaze. "Never is a harsh word."

"Never? That's the harsh word?" I gasped. "You decided to sing to me instead of talking in plain words. You decided to skirt around the honest truth! It's obvious you were thinking about this for a while." Now it was my turn not to meet the gaze. "It doesn't need to be talked about." Nat said bluntly. She yanked her hand from mine and headed out into the corridor. "What is your problem?" I yelled, not bothering to hold back the tears.

Nat threw down her back and scowled at me. "I don't know, ok? There's just something about-" she struggled to find the word as she looked around my flat. "-this that isn't right!" I put my hands to my head and grumbled. "Then what is right to you? Is it me? Is it the way we work together? I want to fix whatever you think is broken damn you!"

Nat threw her arms up in the air with despair. "So I need fixing now?" She shouted back at me. My eyebrows knitted together with confusion. "What? No! I didn't say you were the problem, did I?" Nat shrugged her shoulders. "You act like I am." A tonne of bricks fell onto my heart with her words. "When? How? Will you just tell me what's bothering you?"

"You treat me like I'm a child! Like I've no experience with love!" Her face was matching the colour of her hair. I was dumbfounded. Love? Did she just say that? "I know that look Maria. Yes I said love. Now please just let me leave, let me go!" In shock I was unable to respond before she had left the flat. 'Should I run after her? Should I call her?' I had no idea what to do.


	13. Hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A breakup always hurts, but nothing hurts more than the one you love being hurt themselves. It's time for Maria to get Nat back.

"Maria? Are you coming down this evening?" I put my dinner plate into the sink like I'd done for the past three weeks. It wouldn't get washed but I couldn't be bothered to wash up. I couldn't be bothered to even think. It hurt too much. "No," I called down to Nick. "I'm not feeling to good." I paused and waited until I heard him walk back down the stairs into the bar. 

Normally I would have worked every day no matter how I felt, but now I was just numb. There was a knock on the door breaking my daze. "It's unlocked," I muttered. I made my way to my sofa and pulled the multiple blankets over myself, sinking further into my pit of self pity. "It's me," said Bruce as he came in and closed the door behind him. I nodded and went back to staring at the wall in front of me.

Knowing I wouldn't mind in my trance-like state, Bruce sat down on the floor so I was looking straight at him. He'd changed recently. Since getting together with Stark, he was a lot happier and stood taller. Although we were better friends now than before, it hurt to see him so happy. As soon as he got his happiness, mine was taken away. That just wasn't fair.

"Why are you here?" I asked bluntly. I didn't mean to sound annoyed; it just came out like that. Bruce tried to smile but it fell the longer he looked at the dead expression in my eyes. "It's about..." He stopped for a moment, waiting until I was properly listening. "There was an earthquake in Sokovia." The words poured out of his mouth, each choking him further. I shrugged my shoulders and looked past him.

"I saw it on the news. Poor Sokovia." It hurt to talk so much. It hurt to do anything. Bruce grumbled something that I couldn't hear and then held my head in his hands. "Nat was in Sokovia when it hit. She's on the list of survivors but she's being flown back here later today to receive medical care." My heart was beating faster with every word. "Clint is on holiday in Hawaii with Pepper but there aren't any flights until next Tuesday. They can't get back to be with her."

I sat up and gathered my thoughts as they started to fly away from me. "Why can't you go with Stark?" I mumbled. Bruce laughed with annoyance. "Because you love her! Go and tell her that! Prove to her that she needs you, even though she denies it! Damn you Maria. You can't see an opportunity when it's right in front of your nose. I came to get you; she should be at Lincoln hospital later this afternoon."

I stood up abruptly and ran into my bedroom. Bruce came after me but sighed when he saw I was trying to find some decent clothes. "What are you doing? Go away; I need to get changed!" I shouted at him. I wouldn't have enough time to shower or wash, so brushing my hair and putting it into a bun would have to help. As I scanned the piles of dirty trousers, shirts and dresses, I could only find one outfit that would smell nice enough to wear outside. 

It only took me a matter of minutes to get changed and I rushed past Bruce to collect some bits and pieces I knew Nat would want if she was conscious. I stopped in my tracks, ignoring Bruce's comment on my outfit choice. If she was conscious. "How quickly can you get me to the hospital?" I asked Bruce. He stuttered a reply. "Probably, um, around twenty minutes? It's on the other side of town so it depends on the traffic." 

I bit my lip and paced around my living room thinking as quickly as I could. "Maria?" I heard Bruce in the back of my mind. I knew he was talking but thinking was harder than usual. I hadn't needed to think so much at once since Nat left. I'd just stopped. "Why are you wearing a military uniform?" That made me laugh. "Now you know how I got my medical training. Ok? Now do you have credit on your phone?" Bruce fumbled around his pockets and handed me his phone. I took that as yes. "Cheers," I muttered, dialing a number I knew all too well.

"Phil? Yeah, it's me. I really need a favour."

Bruce was looking as tense as I felt. I tried to block him from my view. Only one thing mattered now. Only Nat.

"Great! It will be nice to see Lola again as well. Thanks Phil!"

I handed Bruce his phone back, grabbed my rucksack, and ran out of the door. I knew Nick would look after my flat for me. It wasn't like someone could break in without having broken into the bar first anyway. "Come on Bruce! Phil's here!" I yelled up the stairs. Bruce chased after me and ran into my back as I was pushing people out of the way to get out the front of the bar. "But you just rang your mate! How can he be here-"

Bruce's jaw fell to the curb as I was getting into Phil's bright red convertible. "Get in if you're coming. We need to get a move on!" Bruce apologised and got into the back of the car and I thanked Phil for picking us up. As we sped towards the other side of town, weaving in and out of the traffic, Bruce lent forwards and asked, "How come we haven't been stopped by police? Plus I'm pretty sure this car shouldn't go this fast. The physics shouldn't allow it." 

Phil laughed and said, "I'd like to see you tell Fitz that. I work for the government. Nice to meet you Mr Banner; I've heard a lot about you." I smiled, feeling safe in Phil's hands. "I had the pleasure of working for Phil whilst I was in the army. Don't look so surprise Bruce, I'm allowed to have friends." Phil grinned at me and asked if Bruce had any qualifications in science. "You sound like you know a lot about physics maybe?"

Confused at Phil's ease of driving at such a speed, Bruce took a while to think before saying, "Yeah. I have a degree in Physics. Spent three years at Uni studying." Phil nodded, approving. "I'm sure one of my team will be in contact with you soon enough then. We can always use someone with your skills Mr Banner. Maybe you could bring along Mr Stark?" It was lucky Bruce had lost his words at that moment because we pulled around the corner and arrived at Lincoln hospital.

I jumped out and grabbed my bag. "Thanks Phil." I then turned to Bruce. "When you've caught your breath, I'll see you inside." He nodded slowly and I wet inside the hospital. I didn't care about the people staring at me. I didn't care that I was being rude to the receptionist. I wanted to know where Nat was going to be so I could make everything perfect. Everything had to be just right for her.


	14. Fogiven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Maria to take drastic action to make sure Nat knows how she feels. Yay.

I stormed up the multiple flights of stairs until I got to the long-stay emergency ward. I asked nurse after nurse and doctor after doctor where Nat was. It was like a maze, just wasting every second I could be looking after her. Eventually a young doctor was kind enough to take me to the right area and showed me to a private room. "Ms Romanov is in this room, ma'am." I thanked him and went to open the door.

There was a window beside the door and I caught a glimpse of Nat. She had a loads of wires connected to her and there was a drip behind her bed. She looked terrible. There was even a thick white bandage around her head. I was trying to build up the confidence to open the door when it moved for me. I looked to my left and found Bruce smiling sadly. "You can do it," he said.

I tried to smile back but it faltered and I let the worry wash over me. I couldn't move myself any further to sit in a chair or even go to her side. I was numb at the end of her bed, watching her chest for every breath as if it were my own. It felt like if I looked away, she'd stop breathing and I'd lose her. I couldn't lose her. I wasn't strong enough for that.

After what felt like an eternity, Nat opened her eyes. I don't think she saw me at first but the raising of her eyebrows told me she recognised me. It was then that I found my feet and walked to her side. I couldn't smile at her; the shock of the amount of monitors around her was scaring me stiff. I jumped slightly when Nat raised her hand to touch the back of my own.

Having kept my emotions mostly in check until that point, I opened the barrier and let my tears flow down my face. I sat down on the chair behind me and held Nat's hand as tightly as I could. A few tears trickled down Nat's cheeks but she was smiling. "Note to self," Nat mumbled. Her throat must have been sore; every word she said sounded painful. "Don't take free holidays." She laughed quietly, wincing when her laugh got louder.

I couldn't help but smirk as well, gripping ever tighter to her hand. "I'm so sorry for whatever I did wrong. I've been thinking of our last conversation every waking hour since you left the flat. It was only when you'd gone that I realised just how much you mean to me. I could never lose you, Nat. It hurt to even breath knowing that you weren't with me," I put our linked hands to my forehead and then kissed her fingers lightly.

"I'm broken without you, Nat. It doesn't even matter to me what you feel as long as I can still see you. As long as we can be friends, I can carry on." I'd run out of words to say to her so my voice trailed off into a tense silence. Nat squeezed my hand and I moved forward in my seat. "I don't know why I left," she whispered. "You mean everything to me Maria. I know what I said is unforgivable," she was trying to hold back the tears but I could hear her voice becoming choked.

"But I can't stay away anymore. I left to clear my head and figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I knew it was music but I felt like I was floating along rather than seeking out my dream. Every day it got harder and I'm so grateful that you came here. Please can we work things out?" She let her tears flow and soon we both looked like emotional wrecks. I lost my tongue so couldn't speak in reply. Instead I stood up and kissed her forehead. 

In that moment, time slowed and I knew where I belonged. I was meant to be with Nat. I was home when I was with her. "I love you Maria Hill," she muttered. I gasped and held my hand to my mouth. Nat's eyes widened in panic and she said, "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. That was stupid of me. You must hate me after how I left you." The more she said, the more wound up she got. I laughed suddenly and Nat had a look of shock on her face.

"I love you too, you adorable idiot," I said. Nat sighed with relief and I kissed her softly, careful not to harm her. We broke away after a long while and I allowed a large smile to grow on my face. Just looking into her beautiful eyes was enough to encourage me to take matters into my own hands. I decided now was the time to make her mine forever.

Shaking my head in disbelief at my own idea, I knelt down on the floor beside Nat's bed. Her jaw dropped and her eyes began to water again. I grinned nervously. "This is crazy and I have no idea why it's taken me so long to say all of this," I said. Nat shook her head a few times and wiped her eyes. "But I really do love you with every cell in my body, Nat. I stopped being me when you left and I can't do that again."

I was getting more confident and Nat looked increasingly excited. "Will you do me the honour of marrying me, Natasha Romanov?" I pretended to present her with a ring box and she laughed silently so as not to hurt her throat. Nodding frantically, I put on her imaginary ring and she went along with the whole scene, pretending to love the sparkling diamond.

"I've been waiting most of my life for someone in uniform to propose to me," Nat said, laughing. I grinned and kissed her again, this time knowing she wan't going to leave. I remembered at that point that Bruce was still waiting outside. "Hang on a second," I said to Nat, heading out of the door. I grabbed Bruce by his sleeve and dragged him into the room. "Have I interrupted something?" 

Bruce looked at Nat's excited face and then turned to me, his eyebrows raised. "I think we should tell him," I said. Nat nodded and pointed to her ring finger where the invisible proposal sat. Bruce was confused for a moment so i explained to him what had gone on. "Oh wow! Congratulations guys. I'll let the others know you're ok, Nat." We thanked him and Bruce left to call our friends and let them know that Nat was doing well.

"I love you Natasha Hill," I said.

Nat laughed and shook her head at me. "I think you'll find it's Maria Romanov."


End file.
